Forde Abbey

Leigh House is 16th- or 17th-century house in Winsham, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.The site was previously part of the Forde Abbey estate until the dissolution of the monasteries, and then bought by the Henley family who built the house at some point between 1590 and 1617. Henry Henley (1612–1696) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1681. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. In 1759 the house was let to Robert Hanning.It is made of local lias stone with Hamstone dressings. It is E-shaped with the five-bay east elevation of two storeys with attics above them. The north and south sides are of six bays. The main room on the ground floor is the Great Hall which, along with other rooms, still contains original large fireplaces.The house was modified in 1893, and then sold by the descendants of the Henley family in 1919. Subsequent owners included the local MP George Davies. After his death many of the furnishings of the house were sold at auction. The house has since been divided into four residences.

The Anglican Church of St Stephen in Winsham, Somerset, England, was built in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Winsham is a village and civil parish 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Chard and 6 miles (10 km) from Crewkerne, in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish, which has a population of approximately 750 residents living in some 335 households, includes the hamlets of Whatley, Bridge, Purtington and Ammerham, and covers an area of approximately 12 square miles (3,100 ha).The village is on the southern border of Somerset, approximately 0.4 miles (0.64 km) from the Dorset border, which is marked by the River Axe. Administratively it is in Area West, South Somerset District Council, and has a Parish Council elected by residents. Winsham Parish Council was one of the first to be formed in 1894, shortly after the passing of the Local Government Act of the same year.

Chard Junction railway station was situated on the London and South Western Railway’s West of England Main Line about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the village of Tatworth in Somerset, England. It was the junction of a short branch line to Chard. It was opened in 1860 as Chard Road, and closed in 1966. An adjacent milk depot was served by its own sidings from 1937 to 1980. Chard Junction signal box remained open to control Station Road level crossing and a passing loop on the long section of single track railway between Yeovil Junction and Pinhoe until March 2021, when control was passed to Basingstoke. Although no longer a station nor a junction, the name Chard Junction is still in use to refer to the scattered houses and industrial buildings in the vicinity of the station site, on both sides of the border between Somerset and Dorset.

Thorncombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It was historically, until 1844, an exclave of Devon. It lies five miles (8 km) south east of the town of Chard in neighbouring Somerset. Thorncombe is situated close to the borders of both Somerset and Devon. In the 2011 census the population of the civil parish was 687.

Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district. The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic manor house known as Cricket House, and its estate in recent times formerly home to a wildlife park.

The Church of St Thomas in Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, England was built in the 14th century and rebuilt in 1868. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Stowell Meadow (grid reference ST333062) is a 2.8 hectare (6.9 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Tatworth in Somerset, notified in 1987. Stowell Meadow supports a nationally rare type of traditionally managed wet neutral grassland. Alder woodland and plant communities typical of marshy grassland are also present. 90 species of plant have been recorded to date, several of which have a local distribution in Somerset. A number of nationally scarce species of beetle have already been recorded.

The Anglican Church of St Michael and All Angels in Chaffcombe, Somerset, England was built in the 15th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Church of England parish church in Tatworth, Somerset, England. It was built in 1850–51 to the design of Charles Pinch of Bath and is a Grade II listed building.

Hawkchurch is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, 3 miles (5 km) north east of Axminster on the border of Devon and Dorset, and about 6 miles (10 km) south of Somerset. It is 4 miles (6 km) north of the tourist and fishing town of Lyme Regis. The parish, in the Archdeaconry of Dorset and Diocese of Salisbury is located on the border of Devon and Dorset. Because of its location, it has been classified as part of each county at different times, but was formally transferred from Dorset to Devon in 1896.The parish church of St. John the Baptist dates from Saxon times, however, the building was heavily restored in 1862.In 1878 the Rev. John Going became rector to the parish and planted rose trees on the walls of every cottage, which gave Hawkchurch its title "The Village of Roses". The village pub, "The Old Inn", is a traditional coaching house, and a hostelry has been on the site since 1543. The Manor House, Wyld Court, dates from 1593. It was built for Robert Moore, whose coat of arms is inscribed above the door. An earlier mediaeval house on the site belonged to Cerne Abbey, prior to the dissolution of the Monasteries. It is a Grade II* listed building. In 1870–1872, Hawkchurch was described as:a village and a parish in the district of Axminster and county of Dorset. The village stands near the boundary with Devon, the river Axe, and the Yeovil and Exeter railway, 3¼ miles NE by E of Axminster; and has a post office under Axminster.Population Trends: The parish has witnessed a fluctuating population over the past few centuries, a major surge around 1820–1840, which was followed by a steady decline until the early 1900s. From the early 1900s to the present day, the parish has only experienced mild fluctuations in the population and has stayed relatively steady overall. The parish is currently on a steady population surge. According to the 2011 Census, there were 271 males and 282 females living in the parish.Occupation Trends: Over the course of history, due its location and size, the parish has centred its income around agriculture, with this field being the leading occupation. This fact has remained the same however in modern days, agriculture has had to compete with the surge in a now thriving tourist industry due to the locations scenic views. According to the 2011 Census, there were 256 people aged 16 to 74 in employment with full-time employment being slightly higher than part-time employment in the tables. Religion in Hawkchurch: Christianity is the most prominent religion in the parish with 373 out of 553 identifying as Christian, and 123 people identifying as non religious by 2011.Solar panel installation controversy: In November 2015, residents of a west Dorset valley had joined forces to protest against proposals for a solar farm they had labelled an “environmental disaster waiting to happen”. Villagers from Thorncombe and Hawkchurch had combined to launch the Stop Sadborow Solar, which would have seen the installation of solar panels on a 43.5-acre (17.6 ha) site near Gashay Farm in Hawkchurch, on the Dorset-Devon border. The application was lodged with West Dorset District Council by developers British Solar Renewables, and now villagers have slammed the proposals and are calling on the district council to refuse the application, due to the area's landscape and popularity with tourists.Hawkchurch's first community shop: In June 2014, Hawkchurch residents turned out in force for the official opening of their new community shop. The volunteer-run store had been set up in a portable cabin on land near the village hall – with plans for a purpose-built structure once it was established. County Councillor Andrew Moulding cut a ribbon to declare the new venture up and running following a two-year campaign. Hawkchurch had been without its own store for more than 20 years and the new shop will open seven days a week and is designed to serve not only the village but the surrounding communities and visitors. Organisers reports indicated that the store had already proven popular with a wide variety of shoppers shortly after its opening.

Chaffcombe is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) north east of Chard in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 229.